One of our favorite ways to unwind on the weekends is to drive west on 66 and visit some local wineries. For months we have been telling our moms about our wine tasting trips so we planned a mother daughter day at the vineyards. We asked our friend Michele and her mom to join and went to see two of our favorites, Barrel Oak Winery and Narmada Winery. It turned out to be a beautiful fall day filled with wine, girl talk, and fabulous hors d’oeuvres that we prepared.
Our first stop was Barrel Oak Winery, a dog friendly vineyard with a California feel and beautiful view. They host charity events almost every weekend and it is an amazing place to bring a picnic and enjoy the view. We did their full flight tasting which includes 11 wines. If you sign up for their newsletter you can get coupons for two free BOW tastings which is half of their wines. At that point it is only $6 to upgrade! You can find a wine for anyone here but one of our favorites is their BOW House Red it has great flavor and body and pairs with most foods is a go to wine to just to have a glass. It was so good we had to get a bottle to share with our picnic lunch!
We camped out in their loft area with all of our fabulous snacks that we brought: salsa, pepper jack tostitos, tomato basil hummus, wheat thins, homemade brie cheese pastry, black peppercorn and syrah cheese from Trader Joes, and a loaf of olive and French bread also from Trader Joes. By far the fan favorite was the black peppercorn cheese. We all agreed that this cheese had the most authentic Italian taste.
Our next stop was Narmada! This place is Heather’s favorite. It is a new winery and has developed quiet a fan base in their first year of operations! The property has a lake, gazebo and event space which they rent out for parties and weddings. The inside of the tasting room is decorated with peacock feathers and Indian flare. The wines are made to pair with Indian foods and have different flavors than most Virginia wines. The Narmada kitchen offers Indian hors d’oeuvres, we tried the vegetable samosas which were flavor packed and delicious! One of our favorite wines at this winery is Midnight. This light summer red wine pairs well with almost anything! It has a great fruit flavor and very light tannins. If you want a relaxing outing with a little taste of culture you need to check out Narmada.
There are so many amazing wineries in the area that we still need to visit but as of now these two take the cake.
Hors d’oeuvres & Mothers
H&M
LOVED our day together!